The Redemption
by Malfoy11
Summary: Post war Dramione. Two and half years after the war a new wizarding world emerges from the ashes of the old one. In the midst of it all new friendships are formed and loyalties are tested. Can Draco and Hermione look beyond the past and see each other in a new light? Or will the scars of the past haunt them forever?
1. Chapter 1

"Shoot!" groaned Hermione smacking her forehead as she ran back to her tiny office, soon to be ex-office, threw open the door, grabbed the memo lying on her desk, and ran back toward the closing elevator doors. Toppling headlong and nearly knocking over the person standing inside, she made it in and clutched at the stitch in her side.

"Merlin's, Granger!" came a half-irritated, half-amused voice from behind her. Turning around, Hermione saw Theodore Nott begrudgingly rubbing a spot on his nose where her hand must have hit him as she tried to get inside.

"Sorry, Nott," smirked Hermione.

The lift clanged to a stop and opened onto level one. Hermione straightened her pants and adjusted the messy bun on her head. As she was about to leave she heard a soft voice from behind her say, "You got this, Granger."

Without looking back she gave a tiny nod and walked out of the elevator in the direction of the Minister's office.

X

Kingsley was staring intently at the memo Hermione had handed to him. She was sitting at the edge of her seat across the desk from him, nervously biting her lower lip. He glanced at her and smiled slightly when he saw her firmly clasping her right hand with her left one. He knew it was partly out of anxiety and partly because the habit to raise her hand had not left her, no matter that she was now an adult witch working at the Ministry of Magic. After a few more minutes of silence he looked up at her and spoke.

"All of your requests shall be met with. I hope your transition from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will go over smoothly. If you need anything at all do not hesitate to ask Ms. Granger. "

Hermione looked startle. With wide eyes she said hurriedly, "What? Just like that? I had prepared so many points to convince you. Minister, some of the requests are rather expensive and as grateful as I am that you are giving us the freedom to make changes, I really do think you should go over the list once more."

"Would you prefer I decline your requests?"

"What! No! That's not what I meant. I only mean it would look like favoritism…"

"Hermione," cut in Kingsley firmly, "If there is anyone in this ministry who deserves these privileges it's you, Ron, and Harry. All the transformation that we have seen over the last three and a half years is all thanks to the days and nights that the three of you along with your schoolmates have spent reforming and revolutionizing the way this Ministry works. Everyone greatly appreciates the work you have done in the Being Division with rights for house elves, and if only they understood its values I'm sure the house elves would be very grateful indeed, but like I told you over a month ago, we need you, I need you, in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. And now that you have agreed, I am prepared to grant any request of yours."

Hermione looked into the kind, intelligent eyes of her friend, the Minister of Magic and sighed.

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Kingsley. I won't let you down."

They went over a few more details of her transition, which would be done by the end of the week, and then Hermione left to find Nott and tell him the news. Only she didn't have to go too far. She saw him sitting outside the Minister's office waiting for her.

"Well?"

"He agreed to everything," she breathed out.

"Of course he did," he snorted, "Does anyone say no to you? Tell me you asked permission for the replenishing supply of firewhiskey in our office Granger, because if you didn't then you're clearly not manipulating your position like I've been trying to teach you for two years now."

"No, I did not Theodore," replied Hermione with a roll of her eyes.

"Theodore?" he started smirking like the true Slytherin he was, "what's wrong?"

"I do not want this privilege. I fought for equality. They shouldn't be giving us this special treatment, it's wrong. Harry hates it as much as I do. I am grateful that Kingsley agreed to all our requests but really some of them are quite expensive. Everyone is going to think he has favorites and that's going to be counterproductive," she replied frowning.

Nott rolled his eyes.

"Trust you to get upset over getting what you want Granger. You and Potter need to get used to the fact that you are as good as royalty now. You don't see old Weasel King crying about it, do you?"

Hermione's frown deepened at the mention of Ron's attitude. It was true that Ron enjoyed the special treatment he was met with everywhere, sometimes even getting affronted when he wasn't given it. Harry and Hermione didn't say anything to him because Ron had never been in the limelight before and they didn't want to upset him, especially as he had had a tough time dealing with Fred's death and was prone to fly into fits of rage at the smallest comment about his attitude.

It had been a little more than three years since Harry Potter had defeated Lord Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts. The wizarding world was still reeling from the shock of loosing its loved ones but they had started to pick themselves up soon after because everyone wanted to work together and build a more equal world for their future. All of them had worked day and night to put together a new ministry with new laws and rights to prevent another such war again. Things were starting to go back to normal recently and everything was falling into place. Sure, there was still a lot of work to be done but this time the younger generation was standing up and speaking out.

Hermione had joined the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures right after completing her 7th year at Hogwarts. She rallied and fought for the rights of house-elves, werewolves, centaurs, and other creatures who would not or could not speak for themselves. Surprisingly Theodore Nott joined her in her campaigns.

He along with his fellow Slytherins who had fought for Voldemort knowingly, were sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban, until Harry, Hermione, and on their insistence Ron, stepped in. When the savior of the wizarding world weighs in on something everybody straightens up and listens. After Harry and Hermione presented their case, the Wizengamot decided to give those who were 20 years or below at the time of the war a pardon and community service on projects devised by Ministry officials. They would also be under strict supervision until deemed safe by the Wizengamot.

The ones over 20 unfortunately did not have the support of Harry Potter with them. They were all given fair trials and according to their respective charges, were either sentenced to Azkaban or stripped of their wand. All except for Narcissa Malfoy.

Harry Potter stood in the court on the day of her hearing and uttered four simple words: "she saved my life." And she was granted a full pardon with strict supervision and house arrest for one year.

And that is how Hermione and Nott began to work together. Nott had been assigned to the welfare for house elves program. The first time Hermione met Nott, she didn't know what to expect. The Head of her department, Gwena Barnby, brought him to her cramped little office and introduced them. After the initial paperwork had been signed, Gwena left and an uncomfortable silence ensued for five minutes where Nott stared fixedly at the wall behind Hermione while she bit her bottom lip nervously, wondering how to start.

"So, um, we will be working t-together on the project and I'd like to get a few things straight before we start," rushed Hermione, stumbling a little. "Whether or not you have a problem with my blood is none of my concern. You're here to work, to redeem yourself if you so wish, so whatever prejudice you may hold needs to be left behind before you enter this work place. I just fought a war, I'm not interested redundant arguments."

At her last line, Theodore Nott finally looked at her and sighed.

"I don't have a problem with you, Granger. I never did. There was a time when I tried to fit in with the rest of my house and my family but that was a long time ago. While I may not have been a death eater, I did make a few foolish choices and yes I was prejudiced when we were younger. But I never really cared enough. All I want is a fresh chance. I don't have anything to loose," replied Nott looking Hermione straight in the eye.

Hermione was surprised by what he said. It was true that Nott had never personally done anything to her. But he had always laughed or smirked when someone, mostly Malfoy, from the Slytherins had insulted and attacked her and her friends. She knew Nott senior had been killed during the battle and his mother had passed away when he was quite young. Nott didn't have any siblings, which meant he was alone. So young and already alone, thought Hermione with sadness. So many lives lost.

Well if Nott wanted a second chance she would gladly help him. And from there, slowly, the two of them started working together. At first they worked in silence with only a polite comment here and there, but then as time progressed they fell into a comfortable friendship, getting to know more about each other. Hermione was pleased to see that Nott put in everything he had into his work and they made a good team, bringing about lots of changes for the betterment of house elf conditions.

To his own surprise, Nott really began to enjoy work. He had never liked the way his father had treated the elves at Nott Terrace, his humongous family house. And as he got to know more about the muggleborn witch, the more he admired her. A year passed and his community service came to an end. He had been deemed "worthy" of fully returning back to the wizarding community and his inheritance was given back to him. All those who had been sentenced, in one form or the other, had to make reparation after the war but even that rather large dent in his inheritance had left him with enough money to live a comfortable life. He knew Granger had stepped in for him at the end of the year though she didn't mention a word of it to him. So at the end of the year when Nott decided to stay on and continue working with Hermione, she was overjoyed.

Now, more than three years after the war they had become a strong team that was a force to be reckoned with, but more importantly they had become close friends. The war had changed a lot for all of them.

"…and as much as I appreciate you ogling at me Granger, it is starting to get a little embarrassing."

Hermione started out of her thoughts and came back to the present. She saw Nott shaking his head at her and pointing to his watch. "I'll see you after lunch at the office and we can start clearing out the space. Got lots to do this week. And for Merlin's sake don't have another row with Weasley. It's quite irritating when he keeps popping in while we are working to throw another tantrum."

And with that Nott turned around and headed toward the elevators.

Hermione scowled in his direction. None of the fights they had had over the last month were her fault. She was only looking out for him because Ron forgot to use his head most of the times and someone needed to tell him what he was about to do was extremely stupid.

With that thought in her mind she stepped into a fireplace and stated clearly, "the Burrow."

X

She stepped into the tiny kitchen of the Burrow and to her surprise saw Harry and Ron seated at the table already. Ron wasn't looking at her and his ears were as red as his hair.

Harry cleared his throat, "Hey, Hermione."

"Harry, why are you here?" asked Hermione suspiciously taking a seat across from Ron.

"I, er, thought it best if I was here. I don't want the two of you to keep fighting about this and…"

"So you're on his side then?" demanded Hermione

"My side?! Hermione, it's my life, it's my decision. I don't see where you come off telling me what I can do!" shouted Ron.

"If only you weren't throwing away everything you wanted Ronald, for a "change of scenery", maybe then I would try to make sense of this idiotic decision."

"I've had enough of it! We have been doing this since our 5th year and I really don't need your permission for anything. Just because you are happy with where you are and what you are doing does not mean I am! Perfect little Hermione Granger has it all figured out doesn't she? Well sorry to disappoint," spat Ron.

"ENOUGH!" bellowed Harry

Hermione and Ron jumped. They had forgotten Harry was till in the room. Rubbing his temples Harry looked at them and spoke firmly.

"Ron I told you to control your temper, mate. And Hermione I understand why you are upset but this is Ron's decision. Let it go."

Hermione was about to object loudly when Harry raised his voice slightly and for the first time Hermione notice a slight strain in this demeanor. He whole body was tense and his eyes had an anxious look about them.

"Hermione I know you mean well but I agree with Ron. If doing this will make him happy, if quitting from the Auror department and joining up with George will make him happy, then yes I support him. Maybe you think there is no potential for him to move forward after this but it is his choice. And Ron get that pathetic smirk off your face."

Ron was sitting at the table grinning triumphantly at Hermione.

"Harry," began Hermione.

"Please Hermione," said Harry pleadingly, "I really need you and Ron to stop fighting and arguing about everything, till tonight at least."

At his words Hermione instantly put two and two together and gasped, her hands flying up to cover her mouth, " Oh Harry!"

"Why? What's tonight mate?" said Ron looking from Harry to Hermione, completely at sea.

"Ron, you fool! Harry is doing it tonight! He's finally asking Ginny to marry him!" squealed Hermione, running over to Harry and giving him a big long hug.

Ron stared at Harry with his mouth hanging open. "Are you sure…? Tonight?" asked Ron in a daze.

Coloring slightly, Harry nodded nervously at Ron. They looked at each other for an entire minute before Ron stood up and awkwardly patted Harry on the back.

"Good on you mate."

X

Hermione floo'd back to the Ministry, got as much done as she could, bade Nott a good night and headed back home to her parents house.

After the war, the first thing Hermione had done was to find her parents and return their memories back. It had been tricky and had required the help of an entire squad of ministry officials, but once Mr. and Mrs. Granger were explained everything by their daughter, they had decided to move back to London to restart their old lives again.

Hermione had decided to stay with them and had been living with them for the last three years. She had missed them so much while she was on the run that she tried to spend as much time as she could with them, helping them settle back into their old life. But now that her 22rd birthday was only a few short weeks away Hermione had decided to finally move out and get a quaint little apartment in Diagon Alley. She was going to move in before her birthday and was quite excited to have her own place for the first time! She had made sure her parents fireplace was connected by the floo network to her own fireplace in the apartment so that they could visit each other easily and frequently.

Sitting down for dinner with her parents she told them all about how Harry was going to propose to Ginny tonight and how Ron had given in his resignation at the Ministry and was going to start working at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes by next week, and how she had finally accepted the position at the Department of Law Enforcement.

"It's been a big day for all three of you, hasn't it?" asked her father smiling.

Hermione smiled back, thinking about how much life had changed for the three of them, and how much more it was going to after tonight.

X

As she came out of the bathroom, ready for bed, a light tapping sound from the window caught her attention. Recognizing the owl she ran to the window excitement coursing through her. Giving the owl a few treats she tore open the letter and read:

 _Dear Hermione,_

 _Harry finally asked! Though I'm sure you already knew. I'm so excited and have a million thoughts running through my head and I don't know where to start. Mum's an absolute mess, you can imagine. I think she's more excited about Harry officially becoming her son than about her only daughter getting married._

 _Meet me for lunch tomorrow at the Grunch. Soooo much to discuss!_

 _Love,_

 _Ginny_

Laughing, Hermione climbed into bed and fell asleep within minutes, dreaming about how her and her friends' lives were changing so quickly.

She had no idea how right she was.

X


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Chapter 2**

Draco stood up to stretch, groaning as the joints in his back cracked painfully. Massaging his neck, he looked over at his partner still bent low over the gigantic footprint on the mud before them.

"Come on Charles," drawled Draco, "admit it, there is no way we are going to track the rest of the prints to her nest and make it back to camp before night fall."

Charlie Weasley shook his head, snorting. He took out a worn out leather sketchpad and a rather rumpled looking quill from the inside of his coat pocket. Flipping to the most recent sketch he had made of the footprints, he made a few notes near the margin and put away the book.

"Y'know, Draco old boy," he said standing up and stretching as well, "if I didn't know you, and I do, I'd say you were almost scared to go after her."

"Only a fool would go after her with anything less than caution," snapped Draco.

"You're scared shitless…" said Charlie starting to laugh, when a sudden rustle to their right made him stop.

He looked at Draco and saw that he had heard the sound as well. Wands drawn, they crept forward toward the sound, and just as they got closer to a dense cluster of trees the rustling stopped abruptly.

Charlie raised his wand and whispered, "Igniorous Revelio."

A brilliant shower of golden sparks fell from the tip of his wand and cascaded down to the floor where they flowed gently as if resting on water.

"Merlin's beard," breathed in Draco in a hushed tone. He looked stunned. "You were right Charlie. It's her."

Charlie however had a grim expression on his face as he watched the golden lights fade away. When close enough to a dragon the spell revealed the type of dragon one was dealing with. He looked up at his partner and wordlessly communicated his worry to him. They walked back to where they had found the footprint. As soon as they were some distance away from the trees, Charlie began in a low voice.

"Something is wrong. Why is she all the way here on the mountaintop when her nest should most definitely be hidden down on the other side of the valley? I can feel it, something is not right here. She would never abandon her eggs and I cannot think of anything that could possibly frighten a Valor Moon, let alone their queen.

Draco looked thoughtfully at the gigantic footprint. It was huge and Draco could have comfortably lain down inside it in the feotal position with ample wiggle room. And that was saying something, as Draco Malfoy was a tall man, and towered over most people. He took out his own leather bound sketch book and flicked through the pages until he reached the latest one of the footprints they had been following for over three days now. Charlie was doing the same but he was looking at his notes rather than his drawing. Draco glanced over at Charlie's sketch and backs at his own. His sharp eyes caught something. Snatching the book out of his partner's hand his placed them side-by-side on the ground next to the actual track print. Pointing his wand at the books he said clearly, "Engorgio."

An icy blue light shot out from his wand and hit the books that magically expanded to double their size. "Look," said Draco pointing to first Charlie's sketch and then to his own.

With the drawings bigger it was easy to notice distinct differences between the two. While Charlie's was much more freehand it was untidy and hastily drawn, capturing the basic shape and form of the footprint. Draco's on the other hand was well defined and detailed. His sketch looked akin to the footprint with ever dent, pressure, and scale accounted for.

Charlie's confused stare was replaced with concentration as he too noticed what Draco had found.

"She's injured! See how the tracks of the right foot as sunk in just a tad bit more than the left? And notice how that paw is slightly rounder showing swelling?" asked Draco.

"Good job mate," said Charlie clapping Draco on the back. The difference became apparent when the drawings were compared. Individually they both looked completely normal.

"So she's injured," said Charlie worry creeping back into his voice. "We need to go to her Draco. Befriend her so that we can help her. It won't be easy though."

Draco looked up at the darkening sky. The sun was setting. "Let's head back to camp and go figure out a plan. There's not much we can do for her right now and you know as well as I do there are better chances of her trusting us during the day"

Charlie was about to argue, when Draco said sternly, "Charlie I know you're worried and you want to go running to her this very minute but that's suicidal and you know it. We will have more success if we actually have a plan. We are heading back to camp." He said it with such finally that Charlie had no choice but to agree and started following Draco back down the to the campsite.

X

Their camp was in a small valley on one of the ranges of the mighty Andes.

A week ago Charlie Weasley and Draco Malfoy had arrived in Chile on the request of Harry Potter. Harry had been working on a rather serious case, his first solo case after joining the Auror's Office at the Ministry. After two months of intensive research and information scoured from various sources he had called Charlie Weasley to his office.

Harry needed his help and if his hunch was accurate then Charlie would find exactly what Harry suspected. He couldn't disclose too many details to Charlie until his suspicions were confirmed so he told Charlie only what he needed to know. He needed Charlie to go on a mission to Chile to track down the only surviving colony of Valor Moon dragons and scout the place for anything that seemed out of the ordinary.

Charlie's eyes had nearly popped out with astonishment at the mention of the Valor Moon. He quickly agreed but on one condition, that Draco Malfoy be allowed in on this mission as well. Harry, having already anticipated this request sighed but conceded to it with only a hint of hesitation.

Charlie and Draco had left two days later after making all the necessary preparations for their trip. Harry had seen them off with a portkey from his office. He sighed once more after the pair had left. Who would have thought a Weasley and a Malfoy would become such close friends?

The war had changed a lot.

X

Draco looked across the bonfire and saw Charlie fiddling with his barely touched food. They had reached camp and made little conversation while eating with the other campers present. Since this was a rehabilitation camp there were witches, wizards, and muggles present. Of course the muggles weren't aware that the people they were interacting with on a daily basis were anything out of the ordinary. Magic was done discretely and completely under protocol. This valley had a lot of magical resources unawares to the muggles living there, and the rehabilitation camp was the pretext used by witches and wizards to stay and collect whatever they needed for various potions, wands, and magical inventions.

Draco and Charlie had gone over a plan quietly for how to approach the dragon the next day. Charlie who was so worried about her injury and what might have caused it, had barely eaten or said much else after that.

"Charlie, mate, you need to eat. If you faint of starvation when we find her, I am not going to save your sorry ass when she decides she'd like us for sport," said Draco.

"Why is she injured though, I just don't get it? These are Valor Moon's and she's the bloody queen. I don't have to tell you how hard it is to even get close enough to one let alone to actually injure one," came out Charlie's frustrated voice.

Draco looked at him sharply. "You think a person did this?"

"I know it sounds ridiculous but it's this strange feeling I have. I know my dragons and only dark magic could harm a Valor Moon. They are nature itself Draco. You'll understand when you see one. It is impossible for them to injure themselves even if they didn't have self -healing fire within them," Charlie replied.

"So I'm guessing this is why Potter sent us here," said Draco grimly.

Before Charlie could reply, a barn owl swooped low and landed next to Charlie, a letter tied to its leg.

"Rodent!" exclaimed Charlie recognizing the owl immediately. He untied the letter and gave the owl the rest of his food.

"Rodent? Who calls an owl Rodent?" asked Draco, not sure whether to be disgusted or amused.

Charlie laughed. "This is Ginny's owl. She named it after Fred."

Seeing the confused look on Draco's face, he explained, "That was Fred's code name on Potterwatch. He hated it. It would have annoyed the hell out of him and Ginny loved doing that." Again Charlie laughed thinking about his brother but his smile was a pained one and Draco looked away in guilt.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts Charlie ripped open the envelope and started reading the letter.

 _Dear Charlie,_

 _Harry asked!_ **He grinned at his sister's lack of tact**. I _t only just happened last night. I'm so happy Charlie. I wrote to you and Percy as soon as I could escape from mum's tears. Everyone else already knows as they were over for dinner today. Mum, Fleur, Audrey, and Angelina have already started making lists of things for the wedding and it's quite scary actually because they've got this crazy gleam in their eyes. Thank God for Hermione, although I did catch her reading a book about wedding traditions from around the world. Honestly, I cannot wait for you to come back from wherever you secretly ran off to. You're the only sane one here. George is teaching the kids his tricks so you can imagine how pleasant mum is to be around these days. Dad and Bill keep looking at me like I'm moving to another country and will never see them again. They keep talking about the things I used to say and do when I was younger. Do you remember those atrocious mini broomstick models I had made for you and Bill with twigs from the yard when I was three? He kept it! He said so did you?_ **Of course I kept it, thought Charlie smiling fondly.** _I thought you both would have thrown those out. He keeps looking at it fondly and muttering about how chubby I was. When did he become an old man? But I suppose I never did have just two parents. Ron is going to start working with George by next week. He's really excited about it and I think George is pleased too but he doesn't show it. Come back soon Charlie, I miss you! We all do. We haven't set a date, as I haven't got the Harpies schedule for next season yet. Training's been going really well too! Cannot wait to flatten you when we play next. Take care of yourself!_

 _Love always,_

 _Ginny_

All the tension that had settled around him after their discovery this evening seem to ease out of his shoulders as he finished reading Ginny's letter. He smiled thinking about how happy his sister was with Harry. He had always been part of the family, now it would just become official. He knew exactly what was going though Bill's mind because Ginny was the baby of the house and the only girl. Even though she was more than capable of taking care of herself, for him and Bill, she would always be the little girl who used to fall asleep on their bed while they told her stories at night.

"Good news then?"

"Harry and Ginny got engaged," said Charlie looking up at Draco.

"That's, uh, great," came the awkward reply.

Charlie shook his head in amusement and then stopped, looked at Draco once more, and stared intently. One thin blonde eyebrow rose questioningly.

"You should come. For the wedding."

Draco's face remained expressionless. Then, "Are you unwell, Charles?"

"I'm serious Draco. It'll be a nice change for you to actually talk to people other than me and your mother."

"Have you lost your bloody mind?" growled Draco, " And I talk to other people," he snapped.

"Oh right, which simpering girl of yours was it the last time?" shot back Charlie.

"Don't really know, I usually stop listening after the first five minutes."

Charlie snorted. "How about you find a girl you actually like, someone with intelligence, and not sleep around with everything that moves?"

"Are you comparing me to that brother of yours?" asked Draco horrified, thinking of Charlie's youngest brother. Every week Ron was clicked with a new girl hanging off his arm, desperation oozing from her eyes and the neckline of their tops. "You and I both know the women I bed are a touch out of out reach for him."

It was a mark of how far they had come when Charlie, instead of getting offended at the way Draco spoke of Ron, let out a long sigh and frowned.

"I'm actually getting a little worried about that kid. The way he acts, like we didn't all loose someone we love," said Charlie.

Draco breathed out a sigh of relief. Though he would never say it out loud, Charlie was one of his closest friends and one of the few handful of people who Draco could be himself around apart from his mother. He would never want to hurt him intentionally. He still remembered the project he had been assigned as his "sentence" after the war with some grumpy old wizard who viewed Malfoy with contempt and disgust. The malicious old ministry worker had sent him to work with the untamed magical beasts that had been injured. It was his job to calm them down. The wizard had hoped that Malfoy would get terribly hurt but surprisingly he has a knack with magical creatures. When he thought no one was looking Malfoy had dropped his arrogant and superior attitude and gently spoken to the creatures until they calmed down. Charlie who had been in charge of the healing that day had watched the whole thing quietly from the door in amazement.

Charlie started to break through Draco's shell as the project continued with his easy nature. He didn't glare at Draco or blame him for everything like the rest of the wizarding world. Charlie had dealt with his pain at his loss in the only way he knew how, to accept it and move on. His nature wasn't to fight and hold prejudices. He had met too many different kinds of people roaming around the world for so much of his life that the old prejudices of his home didn't sit well with him.

When Draco's sentencing was over a year later and he was deemed "safe" to reenter the wizarding world, Charlie offered him an opportunity to work with him on his various missions relating to dragons. Draco has been too shocked to respond. When he recovered he asked Charlie for some time till he finished reorganizing his fathers business. Lucius Malfoy had been sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban. So the responsibility of the business fell on Draco's shoulder. Draco has started changing things and soon the company was unrecognizable, from the dark and corrupted ways of Malfoy senior, the company transformed into one of the most respected and highly efficient businesses in the wizarding world. They delved into several different branches, dealing with inventions of new curative potions for St. Mungo's, to the biggest publishing house that dealt with some of the most knowledgeable witches and wizards alive, to quidditch supplies and training grounds that were used by the international and national professional teams. And then there was one special branch that was Draco's pet project: the care and protection of magical creatures across borders.

Now while the ministry took care of the laws and trading regulations, what Draco's company did was something no one had seen in the wizarding world before. An elite group of witches and wizards were trained to heal magical creatures on sight. While the ministry regulated these magical creatures, no one really protected them, if they were hunted or harmed, and it was within the trading laws, and no muggle had been nearby, the individual usually got away with it. Malfoys trained wizards were spread all over the world. They tracked and integrated themselves into colonies of magical creatures and that was unheard off. They acted as on sight healers. When this branch of the company started gaining recognition for its work but also in more effectively catching wizards who continued to illegally trade banned animals the ministry requested Draco to work as field consultants for the Ministry.

Charlie headed this division of Malfoy's company. They both loved it, as it didn't required sitting in boring meeting's all day long. They were always looking for the next adventure. And yet Draco was on top of each and every division under him. How he managed doing all of that was something Charlie never understood.

"…Or I could just tell Harry you begged for an invite."

Draco snapped out of his thoughts. "I'm not coming for Potter's wedding. Your family hates me. Not to mention all the other guests and the rest of the wizarding world."

"If you give them a chance they will see you have changed Draco," said Charlie softly, looking at his friend. "Half the people don't even know it is you who owns and runs Lux."

Draco had changed the companie's name from Malfoy Inc. to Lux, which meant light. He did not want the spotlight and only the top-most names knew who ran the dynamic company. He had made sure the story did not spread, though the press had tried numerous times to find the identity of this mystery man.

He sighed deeply. "I hardly think Potter would be too pleased to see me there."

Before Charlie could respond, a stunning woman with olive skin and long black hair put her arms around Draco and kissed him. When they broke apart Draco looked at Charlie grinning.

"Sorry mate got to go. A gentleman never keeps a beautiful lady waiting," said Draco smirking as she pressed her chest against him.

Charlie rolled his eyes as Draco walked away towards his tent. Trust Draco to indulge in some debauchery in the middle of a mountain. He had changed a lot. The women he had just left with was a muggle who was in charge of the camp.

Draco didn't hold any of his prejudices on blood anymore. The war had taught him that. He was till an arrogant prick who thought no end of himself but where blood was concerned he had realized how wrong Lucius and the rest of the Death Eaters were. It had torn his family apart, following Voldemort. Draco had had a hard time after the war when suddenly all his beliefs were falling apart around him and the world was changing in a way he wanted to, yet was scared, to accept. He fought his demons along the way and started turning his life around.

Some had accepted that he had changed, but most were still wary of him. Charlie was one of the few people who had not held his past against him. Over the last three years he had become very close to Draco and his mother. Narcissa Malfoy headed the inventive potions division of Lux. She was gifted in Potions and Herbology, especially remedies, and Draco knew she had always wanted to work but as much as Lucius had loved her, he would not allow her to break the Malfoy tradition of women staying at home. It was one of the things that had saved her from falling into depression after Lucius was imprisoned. Unbeknownst to most, all the new curative potions and remedies that St. Mungo's was currently using were the inventions of Narcissa and the people who worked under her.

Charlie turned off the light in his tent with the flick of his wand and rolled onto his sleeping bag. There was till so much progress to be made he thought thinking about home. With that thought he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione made her way through the crowded restaurant looking for her friends. The Grunch was always packed, and maneuvering her way through the popular joint had already caused Hermione to bump into two people and one unsuspecting waiter who would have dropped his tray of butterbeer on a customer's head if not for some quick wandwork.

"Sorry, Terence!" squeaked Hermione.

"Ta, no worries, Ms. Granger. You want the table out back."

Thanking him, Hermione stepped out into the chic patio and spotted her friend's flaming red hair near the back.

"Hermione! Finally! How are you always late?" said Ginny with a roll of her eyes, as she hugged her friend.

"Sorry sorry, I didn't realize the time until Theo left for lunch. We finally finished moving into the office today," replied Hermione giving quick hugs to Neville and Luna, who she hadn't seen for months, before sitting down.

"I remember Theodore," said Luna dreamily, "He helped me carry a few third years to the hospital wing after curfew. The Carrows were on detention duty that day."

The other three looked at her in surprise. It wasn't just because Luna had the tendency to say serious things in her far-away dreamy manner, but rather because none of them expected Theo to have helped when the castle was occupied by death-eaters. A side he should have supposedly supported.

"He's completely different now, but I never knew he tried to help even then. He never told me," said Hermione softly.

"It would have been hard to betray the people he cared about," replied Luna, "But I always found him rather nice when he was alone."

"Exactly when were you alone with him?" came Neville's confused question.

"Yeah," added Ginny, "How come you never told us? We were together all the time if I remember our sixth year correctly."

The year Harry, Hermione, and Ron had been on the run, chasing down horcruxes, was the year the death eaters had taken over Hogwarts. Ginny, Neville, and Luna being among the senior students in the school and a part of the resistance against Voldemort, had fought tooth and nail against the death eaters to protect the younger students. They rebelled along with their fellow students from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff at every chance they got. This earned them the worst punishments from the Carrows who were known to get really ugly with students who defied them. Where, they had been good friends before, the war made them as inseparable as the golden trio. And that friendship strengthened into a bond that was unbreakable among the three even today.

"Oh a few occasions here and there during the year," said Luna vaguely.

Seeing Neville and Ginny give Luna questioning looks, Hermione thought it best to change the topic. Luna could be very private sometimes and they were meeting for lunch to discuss other important and exciting matters. It had been a two weeks since the proposal and they had already met several times to get things ready. Ginny's Harpies training started in November so they had decided on the date of October 2nd for the wedding. Which meant they had only three weeks to plan the entire wedding.

"Come on Gin, we have a lot of things to finalize for the wedding. I have to get back to work in an hour so lets get on with it," she said hurriedly taking the attention off Luna, who smile at Hermione gratefully.

"I too have to get back to the castle soon. McGonagall wants to go over some of the changes in the program this year," said Neville taking a sip of his butterbeer.

Neville had started teaching Herbology at Hogwarts this year as Professor Sprout had retired at the end of last year. Term had only started a week ago so he was still adjusting to life as a professor at his old school, after a year of travelling to the depths of the Amazon with Luna. He had discovered many new species of plants and fungi that helped him make a name for himself in the Herbology community.

Looking at her dear friend, Hermione still couldn't believe this was the same terrified little boy who kept loosing his toad when they were younger. He had grown up into a quiet, yet confident young man, who over the last few months had become smitten with a certain Hufflepuff, currently the successful owner of the Leaky Cauldron and the Grunch.

"Hermione!" said Ginny loudly shaking Hermione out of her thoughts. "I said Harry and Ron should be joining us any minute now. We have something we would like to share with you'll together.

Before any of them could ask what she was talking about, Harry and Ron pulled up chairs and sat down with them. After a few minutes of catching up, Ginny cleared her throat.

"I know we still have a few things left to finalize for the wedding but the most important is the maid of honor and the best man," she said excitedly

"The thing is, Hermione, Ginny wanted to you to be one of her bridesmaids, but I didn't want her to do that," said Harry.

Seeing the confusing and hurt on her face, he continued hurriedly, "Because I wanted to ask you and Ron if you would both stand by me on my wedding day as my best mates," he finished, smiling at Ron and Hermione, who looked stunned.

A silent understanding passed between the three best friends. Ron grinned clapping Harry on the shoulder and Hermione beamed at him, tears forming in her eyes. He was her brother and she loved him dearly but she never expected him to ask anyone else after Ron. A burst of happiness shot through her as she looked at her friends. Her family.

"Aw Hermione I thought you would be standing with Neville and Luna by my side, but Harry's gotten alarmingly good at emotionally blackmailing me," said Ginny sticking her tongue out at Harry who smirked back at her.

"M-me?" stuttered Neville turning pink in the face.

"Of course you, you big lovable oaf," chuckled Ginny, seeing the look on his face.

"But I'm…I mean I didn't expect…"

"Neville, you both are my best friends. I'm not celebrating the happiest day of my life without you with me all the way."

"Ginny, I think Neville is just worried about the Gigglepots getting him on the alter. They are notorious for hiding in the brides hair," offered Luna in a helpful way.

Ron snorted into his drink while no one else dared ask what a Gigglepot was. Harry smiled fondly at Luna.

"I'm glad your back from your expedition Luna, we missed you."

"Yeah, Luna," said Ron grinning at the wistful blond, "don't leave so soon, like the last time. It's always more entertaining when you're around."

"Oh I'm here for a while this time. Some of daddy's old friends from the Quibbler have a new idea for the magazine. I'm going to stay and work on it till the next trip."

While Harry was asking for the bill, Hannah Abbot came up to them and started talking. She looked at Neville shyly and they soon got lost in their own conversation as the others left quietly.

Luna and Hermione promised Ginny they would meet her the following day for her dress fitting and the friends departed for work.

X

Theo had been going over the notes of their first assignment in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for an hour now and the words were beginning to blur in front of him. Giving up on the thick file, he leaned back in his chair and looked over at Hermione who was busy scribbling away notes on her own copy of the assignment.

Their new office was spacious enough for two people. Their desks faced each other on opposite sides of the wall and in between there was a low table stacked with books on magical laws that the two of them used frequently for research with their cases. And while Nott had been looking forward to dealing with new challenges in the DMLE, the case they were currently working had him bored to tears.

"How are you so engrossed in this?" he said incredulously looking at the witch still bent low over her file. "I'm bored out of my mind. I thought we'd be getting a bit more action with law enforcement but instead we're stuck here reading the complains of a whiny old nutter and the plants that are plotting to kill him."

Hermione looked up from her papers, "I am bored, but that doesn't mean we don't look into it. Here, why don't we exchange notes and see if we cant finish it off?"

"Fine."

Theo got up in with a huff and dumped himself onto the chair in front of Hermione's desk.

"So let's start with the claim – you want to go first?" asked Hermione.

Rolling his eyes his looked down at his notes. "Balmy old wizard, Barney Diddlebee, claims his garden tried to attack him last Friday night during his usual stroll before bed. He said he felt a strange buzzing energy in the air that- what was the quote now, ah – that 'scared the hair of me buttocks'" finished Theo grimacing.

Hermione grinned looking at her own notes. "He also says that after a few minutes the vibration in the air stopped and everything went still. Like the magic had been sucked out of the air."

"Right, and now his plants seem just like muggle plants, apparently they don't have magic in them anymore."

"But it's not possible to drain something completely of its inherent magical abilities. Temporarily, magical energy, like any energy can be transferred, making it seem like a property has lost the potential energy but it will always be there. It will either be dormant or will complete the circle of nature and come back to its original property," said Hermione, frowning, thinking whether it was worth talking to Mr. Diddlebee at all.

"He's off his rocker I'm telling you. Probably had one to many over dinner. He lives alone doesn't he? Well there you go, gone insane with the isolation."

"You're probably right. Ugh, I wish they would give us something a bit more challenging."

"Well, if we are done here I'm heading home," said Theo, gathering his things from his desk.

"Ooo got a hot date have we?"

He snorted, "Sure, if you consider Draco hot."

"Oh."

Theo snorted again. She always became uncomfortable whenever he mentioned Draco. He didn't blame her, they did have a rather nasty history but it always amused him to see her trying so hard to pretend that she was completely at ease with Draco being one of the few people Theo was close to.

"You could come, you know. It's just me and Draco catching up at my place, and Blaise might drop in for a bit."

He knew her answer would be no before she even said it but it still disappointed him a little. While she had been to his home several times now, he could never get her to agree to meet his friends. Shaking his head he left while Hermione was still muttering excuses.

She stared at the door for a long time after it swung shut. Why did she still get so awkward whenever Theo spoke about his housemates? She had bumped into several of them on various occasions and while a few of them still made it very clear they still hated her existence, a lot of them had kept their distance with a polite smile here and a nod of acknowledgement there. Hermione wasn't a prejudiced woman; she knew both sides had suffered tremendous losses. And even if the losses from the dark side didn't affect her personally, there were those it did, and she respected their grief unlike some people who thought they deserved it.

Gathering her things she signed thinking about one blond in particular. She knew he had changed. She was one of the few people, along with Harry, who knew that Malfoy owned Lux. Despite all of that, there was something about his quite, cold demeanor that unnerved her the few times she had seen him around. Theo was always trying to get her to meet Draco and Blaise properly as they were the only family he had left and he had started to get along well with all of her friends. Harry and Ginny had even invited him to their wedding. But the thought of sitting with her childhood nemesis and actually talking made her extremely uncomfortable.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts she made her way to the Auror Office. She, Harry, and Ron had plans for a late dinner and she was sure Harry had forgotten. It was already very late; most of the Ministry workers had left.

She had just reached the Auror Office when the door opened and none other than Draco Malfoy stepped out, turned, and stopped short at the sight of her.

Steel grey eyes met brown. He was wearing dark joggers and a fitted black t-shirt that had been rolled up to his elbows. She didn't know what startled her more, the fact that Malfoy was wearing muggle clothing or that he looked incredibly handsome in casual, comfortable clothes rather than the wizard robes she had always seen him in.

"Granger," he nodded, slowly appraising her in a way that made the color rise in her cheeks.

Before she could remind herself to say something, the door opened again and out came Harry and Charlie both wearing the same grim expression that she'd noticed on Malfoy's face.

"Hey Hermione, " smiled Charlie giving her a one-armed hug.

"When did you get back?" she asked. She could feel Malfoy's eyes on her.

"Just now, actually. Needed to have a word with Harry and congratulate him of course," replied Charlie with a cheeky grin on his face as he looked pointedly at Malfoy.

After a few uncomfortable seconds where Malfoy glared at Charlie he turned toward Harry and said politely, "Congratulations, Potter. Charlie told me."

"Er, thanks mate," said Harry awkwardly rubbing his neck. "I'll see you two tomorrow then?"

Both Charlie and Draco nodded looking serious once more. They turned to leave when Draco's eyes once more met Hermione's.

 _Was he always this good looking?_

 _Wait what? You're obviously really tired Hermione, or you wouldn't be thinking such ridiculous things._

Mentally scolding herself with one last look at Malfoys retreating back she apparated from the Ministry with Harry in tow.

X

Draco floo'd to Nott Terrace and made his way to the beautiful patio that gave the place its' name. Theo's mother had designed the enormous terrace herself when she had been alive. A magical glass that glowed and reflected the hues of dusk and dawn at any given time covered parts of it. She had brought in experts in magical landscaping to build a most magnificent vertical garden that circled the expanse of the outer wall. There were butterflies of every imaginable shape and size fluttering over the intricate flower patterns on the wall. It was like stepping into an enchanted world away from all the darkness in their lives.

Theo was already waiting for Draco with a bottle of Odgen's Olde Firewhisky set out on the wooden table next to a delicious roast duck and vegetables.

"Well isn't this romantic. You do know how to sweep a guy of his feet Theo," drawled Draco eyeing the dinner.

Theo turned and looked at Draco with a hurt expression. "And you couldn't even dress up for me."

"Sod off you prat, I'm starving. Haven't eating anything since canned bean soup for breakfast and international portkeys make me hungry."

Theo grimaced at the thought of having any kind of bean soup, canned or not.

As they started eating their way through dinner, the two friends caught each other up on the last three weeks. Draco couldn't reveal too much to Theo as Potter had told them several times how highly confidential this case was and after what he had witnessed yesterday, Draco darkly agreed with him.

"I asked Granger to join us tonight," said Theo casually opening the bottle of firewhiskey.

"Oh?"

"She got all awkward as soon as I mentioned your name and then pretended as though she was the Queen of Cool, failing miserably," he grinned.

" I ran into her just now at the Ministry," Draco said quietly, sipping on his drink. "You'd think I'd hexed her with the way she was looking at me."

Theo rolled his eyes. He and Draco had had this exact same conversation countless times before. Draco thought Hermione still thought of him as the evil little prat who had made her life a living hell back in school, that she blamed him just like everyone else did for the sins of his father. He was tired of telling him that she was a lot more sensible than that but Draco was a stubborn as it got.

"Speaking of Granger, it's her birthday this weekend. Why don't you come along? She's having small celebration at her place and maybe this way you'll talk to people other than your mother."

Draco glared at him. This was the second time in weeks that someone had told him the exact same thing.

"What is it with you and Charlie and trying to make me friends with the golden trio," said an irritated Draco explaining to Theo how Charlie had asked him to come to the wedding.

"Oh, why didn't I think of that? I'm going for the wedding. You should definitely come."

Draco groaned.

"I'm not bloody going to Potter's wedding alright!"

He said it with such finality, Theo dropped it for now. They drank their way through the bottle until both passed out on the terrace as was usual with them.

X


End file.
